It is all obvious or trivial except…

Fire this cow now. Immediately

The Culture Secretary’s special adviser said she wanted to “flag up” the Cabinet minister’s connection to press regulation after reporters established that Mrs Miller’s parents lived in her taxpayer-funded second home.

\”Nice family you\’ve got here. Be a shame if anything happened, wouldn\’t it? You know, like a firebomb coming through the bedroom window? Be better if you paid up for some protection against such a terrible event, wouldn\’t it?\”

We rightly and righteously jail the cunts who run such protection rackets.

My impression is that this sort of thing has always gone on, but more subtly. So Ms Miller’s senior aid would phone the newspaper editor (they were probably at Eton together), have a chat about the Leveson report and how keen she was to be helpful, much more so than her likely replacement should she leave office. Then change the subject to the newspaper’s investigation into her expenses and ask for some restraint.

No, PaulB; it’s impossible not to take ‘Yes Minister’ too seriously! In the recent past, these affairs were always handled as you describe, but nowadays some wretched blogger will spill the beans. Sir Humphrey would be horrified!

“I having been in government have every reason for believing that the government routinely abuses the powers it has. It’s not a matter of the last resort, it’s the first resort. It isn’t something that happens exceptionally, it happens all the time.”